West Ham summer signing Gokhan Tore could be set to make his official debut for the East London based outfit against his former team Chelsea in the opening Premier League game of the season.
The London derby will take place on Monday 15 August at Stamford Bridge – a stadium Tore is all too familiar with having joined the club aged 17 after spells with V Adler Dellbrück and Bayer Leverkusen.
Tore rose through the youth ranks at Chelsea before joining HSV in 2012 followed by a brief stint at Rubin Kazan before joining Besiktas in 2014 on a permanent move.
Current Hammers boss Slaven Bilic was responsible for kickstarting Tore’s career after a few years of stagnation and over the course of two-seasons Tore established himself as one of the most highly rated players in the league.
Bilic tried to sign Tore in his first season in charge of West Ham but eventually managed to be reunited with explosive winger this summer after he joined on a one-year loan with a £10 million buyout clause option.
Tore missed the recent Europa League qualifier against Domzale due to injury but has returned to training and is expected to start against the Blues.
Follow Emre Sarigul @Turkish_Futbol